List of sea explorers
The era of European sea explorations began in the late 15th century and lasted for a little more than three full centuries.
This is a list of notable sea explorers:
- Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, the second person to circumnavigate Antarctica
- Thomas Cavendish
- Samuel de Champlain
- Didrik Pining, discovered America 20 years before Columbus
- Christopher Columbus, (re)discovered America
- James Cook
- Bartolomeu Dias
- Francis Drake
- Leif Ericson, a norse viking discovered America some 500 years before Columbus, calling part of it Vinland
- Vasco da Gama
- Henry Hudson
- Ferdinand Magellan, discovered the Pacific Ocean
- Abel Tasman
- Luis Vaez de Torres
- Giovanni da Verrazano
- Amerigo Vespucci, discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continent
- Zheng He explored much of Asia and Africa.